Specially protected nature areas of Armenia for conservation of forests and biodiversity

45 Pages·2016·1.13 MB·English

by  Siranush Galstyan

Specially protected nature areas of Armenia
for conservation of forests and biodiversity
Siranush Galstyan
WWF-Armenia, ENPI-FLEG 2 coordinator
September 2016, Yerevan
Contents
1. Forest cover, pressures and consequences
2. Forest biodiversity and Red Book of Armenia
3. Main threats to biodiversity in Armenia
4. Reports and strategic documents
5. Protected areas of Armenia
6. Forest sanctuaries
7. High conservation value forests
8. School forestry
Forest cover in Armenia
According to the clarified data obtained by GIZ in 2011
through remote sensing method the forest cover of the
Republic of Armenia makes 332.333 ha or 11.17 % of the
total territory of Armenia.
75% of the forests of Armenia is managed by “Hayantar”
SNCO under the RA Ministry of Agriculture and 25%
(forests in specially protected nature areas) – by the RA
Ministry of Nature Protection.
Pressure on forests of Armenia
The main anthropogenic pressures on forests includes :
* overuse of forests
* irregular loggings
* grazing
* hay-making
* land occupations and others
Consequences
In the result the valuable forest areas are being reduced, the changes
in species composition and forest structure are registered in forests
and the stands loss the capacities of natural regeneration with
reduction of their productivity.
In the result of various natural and anthropogenic impacts the
natural seed regeneration of the main valuable forest species such as
oak and beech is not satisfactory. The stands dominated by Pinus
kochiana, Taxusbaccata, Coryluscolurnaand other rare tree species
have reduced; at present they occur in the form of patches and
sporadic trees. The steppe-meadow vegetation types are often
replacing valuable forests.
Loggings
Due to various socio-economic problems and high demand for wood the forest
loggings still exceed the rates of natural regeneration of forests. The accessibility
of wood, increasing prices of power-bearing substances and low solvency of
socially insecure population contribute to that. Fuelwood is still the main source
of fuel for the forest adjacent population. According to the surveys implemented
by the SFMC SNCO in 2010, the demand for fuelwood made 709851cubic m,
which exceeds more than 20 times the volume of legally harvested wood.
Over the recent years in the logged forest areas and adjacent territories the
instability of ecosystems has been observed with increase of wind-fallen or snow-
fallen areas, activation of soil erosion, landslides, avalanches, drying of springs,
formation of dust clouds and other processes, which cause serious damage to
communities and areas of agricultural significance.
Forest fires
The cases of forest fires have increased. In 2003 fires were registered on
3.92 ha of forest lands and in 2013 – on 91.575 ha. By the statistical data
during 1998-2013 the highest rates of forest fires were observed in 2006,
2010 and 2011. In total, the forest lands damaged by fire during 1998-2013
made 2875.3 ha, out of which 2323.9 ha were the areas covered by forest.
By official information, 198 cases of forest fire were registered during 2009-
2013, totally on a territory of 1616.721 ha.
The main cause of the majority of forest fires is the burning of adjacent
agricultural areas. The complex relief, poor condition of forest roads,
absence of respective technical equipment for fire control and others cause
obstacles for implementation of efficient fire control measures.
Red Book of Armenia: plants and animals (2010)
The Red Book of Plants of Armenia:
452 species of vascular plants (11,89% of the flora of Armenia) and
40 species of fungi (1,05% of the biota of Armenia). The categories:
Critically Endangered (CR) - 143 species, Endangered (EN) - 249
species and Vulnerable (VU) - 60 species.
The Red Book of Animals of Armenia:
155 species of vertebrates
153 species of invertebrates.
Forest biodiversity of Armenia
Typical forest species:
90 species of vertebrates (6 amphibians, 25 reptiles, 42 birds, 17
mammals) - out of total 549 species)
2212 species of invertebrates (95 molluscs, 85 arachnids and 2032
insects) – out of total 17154 species
About 870 species of higher plants occur in forest communities (out
of them 23 are endemics) – out of total 3800 species.
Importance of (forest) biodiversity for Armenia
Edible plants – about 200 species.
Wild fruits and berries – about 120 species (about 40% of dendroflora of Armenia).
Honey plants – about 350 species.
Edible mushrooms – 290 species.
Wood from forests is used as fuel-wood and construction wood.
Medicinal plants (about 10 percent of the flora of Armenia).
More than 2000 species of fodder plants.
Wild relatives of a large number of cultivated plants (cereals, fruity tree species and
others); among fruits and berries about 30 species of wild relatives occur on the
territory of Armenia.